A letter sent to all federal agencies by the Trump administration, instructs them to cancel all federal contracts with Harvard University – worth an estimated $100million. To discuss, we FEATURE Chris Demaske. Demaske is a nationally recognized First Amendment law scholar whose work seeks to reconceptualize First Amendment law in a manner that more fully protects and supports free speech for everyone, especially for members of racial, ethnic, gendered and religious groups typically marginalize, silenced or vilified in U.S. society. Her investigations cover a spectrum of free speech topics including social media regulation, free speech zones, political dissident speech, academic freedom, incitement, and true threats. However, her most in-depth scholarly work to-date is in the area of hate speech restriction, in which she focuses on the legal treatment of hate speech in the United States and why that treatment, or lack thereof, is problematic in light of social tensions that are continuing to escalate. Demaske has authored two books in field of First Amendment law, Modern Power and Free Speech: Contemporary Culture and Issues of Equality and Free Speech and Hate Speech in the United States: The Limits of Toleration. Media includes: Seattle Times, Jackson Clarion Ledger, Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

Texas Republicans are making way for a bill that would further restrict abortion access in the state and block legal challenges against it in state courts. The bill has passed through the state Senate and will be moving to the House. To discuss, we FEATURE Yvonne Gutierrez, chief strategy officer for Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America. Throughout her award-winning career, Gutierrez has proudly worked with many community, organizational and political leaders and led diverse teams on the issues of reproductive rights, gender equity, and political access for BIPOC women as well as voter engagement campaigns. She was formerly Head of Community Engagement at Supermajority where she oversaw outreach for all organizational partnerships expanding support for Supermajority’s campaign initiatives and, prior to that, she worked for Planned Parenthood in Texas for over 14 years. She was the first Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Texas Votes (PPTV) serving in that role for five years. Media includes: Spectrum News, Chron.

The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit is currently underway and will see countries in the region addressing the tarrif threats from the U.S. as well as the civil war in Myanmar. To discuss, we FEATURE Nomi Claire Lazar. Lazar is a professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa where she is also an elected member of the Governing Board. She has taught at the University of Chicago, Yale, and at Yale-NUS College in Singapore, where she served as Associate Dean of Faculty. With a background in legal and political thought, she has written extensively on emergency powers, political ethics, national constitutions and their legitimacy, utopian and apocalyptic politics, time and temporality, and political rhetoric. Lazar is an expert on the politics of Singapore and ASEAN. Media includes: Macleans, Channel News Asia, Toronto Star, Singapore Straits Times, PBS.

President Trump has extended the deadline on when the tariffs on EU goods would be raised to 50% to July 9, to give time for trade negotiations to take place. To discuss, we FEATURE Joelle Schmitz. Schmitz is a senior fellow emeritus of Harvard University's Mossavar Rhamani Center for Business and Government. Prior to joining MRCBG, Schmitz served as a Fulbright Scholar and policy advisor to the Canadian Prime Minister’s office on issues of interprovincial and international integration, a consultant to the lead negotiator for the United States in European Union trade agreements and a board member of nonprofit organizations. Schmitz has published and lectured on tools to strengthen global democracy within the private and public sectors of Asia, Europe, and across North America and has appeared as a guest commentator at conferences and productions throughout the world. Extensive media experience.

The five year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd was on Sunday, May 25th. To discuss, we FEATURE Andrea M. Headley. Headley is an assistant professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. She is a scholar of public management, racial equity, and criminal justice policy. At the heart of her research lies the question how can we create a more effective and equitable criminal justice system? Headley’s research focuses on policing to understand how organizational, managerial, and individual level factors affect service delivery and outcomes, with a keen focus on inequities and disparities. Specific examples of her past work include improving police-community relations in communities of color, assessing the effect of race during use of force encounters, evaluating body-worn cameras, understanding national police reform commissions, analyzing dispositional outcomes in citizen complaints, and exploring the gendered norms and cultures in policing. Media includes: Dayton Daily News, The Conversation, NBC, PBS.

WMC SheSource has a full list of experts to discuss here.

May is Asian American Heritage Month. To discuss, we FEATURE Shivana Jorawar. Jorawar is a lawyer and policy advocate who currently serves as the co-executive director of Jahajee Sisters, an organization she co-founded. Jahajee Sisters is a grassroots organization based in New York City creating a safer and more equitable society for Indo-Caribbean women through dialogue, arts, leadership development and grassroots organizing. Previously, she directed reproductive justice priorities for the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF), the country's only national organization dedicated to social justice and human rights for Asian American and Pacific Islander women and girls. Her experience includes working with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as a legal clerk, working with the the anti-domestic violence organization Sakhi for South Asian Women, and co-chairing a chapter of Law Students for Reproductive Justice. Media includes: The Hill, The American Prospect, Colorlines, The Nation, Associated Press.